ECOLOGICAL STOICHIOMETRY: A SCIENCE TO EXPLORE THE COMPLEXITY OF LIVING SYSTEMS
ECOLOGICAL STOICHIOMETRY: A SCIENCE TO EXPLORE THE COMPLEXITY OF LIVING SYSTEMS
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DOI：
10.17521/cjpe.2005.0120
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发表时间：
2005
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Zeng De
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Zeng De
生物科学在20世纪发展非常迅速，变得越来越复杂和具有预测性。随着这一趋势，研究领域也变得越来越专业化和碎片化。然而，这种碎片化和专业化有可能忽视活生物体最固有的生物学特征。人们可能会问，地球上的生物是否具有统一的基本特征，这些特征可以连接从基因分子结构到生态系统动力学的不同学科和生物学研究水平。通过探索这个问题，一门新的科学——生态化学计量学在过去的二十年里发展起来了。生态化学计量学是研究生命系统中多种化学元素的质量平衡；它分析了在生态相互作用中这些物质平衡的约束和后果。地球上的所有生物实体都有特定的元素组成和特定的元素需求，这以可预测的方式影响它们与其他生物及其非生物环境的相互作用。生态化学计量学已被成功地应用于从分子、细胞、有机体、种群到生态系统和全球的许多生物学层面。目前，生态化学计量学原理已广泛应用于种群动态、营养动力学、微生物营养、宿主-病原体相互作用、共生、比较生态系统分析、消费者驱动的养分循环等研究。本文综述了生态化学计量学的概念、研究历史、原理及其应用，并指出了这一动态研究领域未来的研究热点，以期促进这一学科在中国的发展。
The biological sciences developed very fast during the 20th century and have become increasingly sophisticated and predictive. Along with this trend, areas of research also have become increasingly specialized and fragmented. However, this fragmentation and specialization risks overlooking the most inherent biological characteristics of living organisms. One can ask if the living organisms on the earth have unified and essential characteristics that can connect the disparate disciplines and levels of biological study from molecular structure of genes to ecosystem dynamics. By exploring this question, a new science, ecological stoichiometry, has been developed over the past two decades. Ecological stoichiometry is a study of the mass balance of multiple chemical elements in living systems; it analyzes the constraints and consequences of these mass balances during ecological interactions. All biological entities on the earth have a specific elemental composition and specific elemental requirements, which influence their interactions with other organisms and their abiotic environment in predictable ways. Ecological stoichiometry has been incorporated successfully into many levels of biology from molecular, cellular, organismal and population to ecosystem and globe. At present, the principles of ecological stoichiometry have been broadly applied to research on population dynamics, trophic dynamics, microbial nutrition, host-pathogen interactions, symbiosis, comparative ecosystem analysis, and consumer-driven nutrient cycling. This paper reviews the concepts, research history, principles, and applications of ecological stoichiometry and points out future research hotspots in this dynamic field of study with an aim to promote this discipline of research in China.